Finally, you have a super art, which can only be fired when your entire meter is full, as opposed to spending one section of that meter to fire your weapon's secondary attack.

These range from a fireball and a ring of damaging gems to a burst of bulky, short-range arrows. You can also earn meter by parrying pink projectiles and enemies, a task that requires you to jump towards an enemy and then tap jump again at just the right moment before impact. There are six in all, and each comes with a secondary attack that's tied to a meter that fills when you successfully land shots on enemies. The mix of ammunition for your handgun-character fire from their fingers-includes the likes of a spread shot, a charge blast, and a boomerang round. These stages don't compare to Cuphead's main attractions, but they add valuable substance nonetheless. Coins are in short supply and can only be collected once, so farming to gain an advantage is out of the question. These help break up the action and give you a chance to collect coins that can be cashed in for 'weapons' and passive buffs. Outside of one-on-one fights, you also have a few opportunities to run and gun through less-imposing platforming stages. As a Cup-thing who gambled with the devil, you now must go around collecting debts from the devil's other acquaintances-the game's bosses. Cel-shading means one thing to a lot of people, but Cuphead truly re-creates the look of hand-drawn cel animation.Ī world map sets the stage for your adventure. The sheer variety of characters and settings yields consistent delight as you go from one stage to the next, with everything bearing the telltale signs of grainy film and rudimentary production techniques. And now that it's available on Switch, you can get a closer look and admire the artwork in the palm of your hand. Cuphead's 1930s cartoon aesthetic is endlessly charming, popping with color and expression unlike anything seen at this scale in a video game before.

When you are navigating your way around bullets, smaller enemies, and pitfalls, while simultaneously trying to damage your primary target, toppling Cuphead's imposing bosses is both a monumental and rewarding task.īut difficult battles only tell half of the story.

Battles may only last three minutes at most, but they feel far longer when you know that you can only absorb three hits before you have to start from scratch.

Think for too long, and you won't stand a chance against the game's toughest enemies. It is a difficult side-scrolling shooter with relentless boss battles that demand rapid-fire actions and reactions. Everything you've heard about Cuphead is true.

Cuphead online co op xbox one